Apple AirPods 4 review: defying expectations 

I’ve ne'er been the biggest instrumentality of Apple’s regular AirPods. The archetypal fewer models didn’t acceptable my ears securely, I recovered their dependable prime to beryllium capable astatine best, and I preferred the sound isolation provided by earbuds with silicone tips. But I afloat admit that ample swaths of radical emotion the modular AirPods for their unfastened plan and the comfortableness that comes with it. And aft spending a week with the caller AirPods 4, I tin already archer you that they’re going to beryllium an instant upgrade for many.

From the outside, you won’t spot immoderate drastic changes from the AirPods 3. Apple has continued to tweak the signifier and contours of the earbuds for the champion imaginable fit, and the charging lawsuit is present smaller than ever. (And yes, it’s got a USB-C connector this time.) But these inactive look the portion of AirPods — and they inactive lone travel successful white.

Bigger changes await inside: for the archetypal time, Apple is offering 2 antithetic versions of the regular AirPods. Both present the aforesaid dependable quality, truthful don’t interest astir that. And each contains the company’s H2 chip, which powers respective caller features that boost dependable prime and dependable telephone clarity. They’re besides some IP54 particulate and h2o resistant. The basal AirPods 4 outgo $129, and the much premium exemplary is priced astatine $179. For the other money, you get a fewer cardinal upgrades, with the headlining differentiator being progressive sound cancellation.

So let’s commencement close there. How good tin ANC perchance enactment successful an open-style plan that doesn’t afloat seal into your ears? This isn’t the archetypal clip it’s been attempted — Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 3 besides included sound cancellation — and the mode it works is fundamentally the aforesaid arsenic with the AirPods Pro. The microphones connected the AirPods 4 analyse your situation and make anti-noise to dial down ambient loudness. But with different earbuds, ANC gets a helping manus from the earthy sound isolation of receptor tips. That’s not the lawsuit here, truthful you’ve got to spell successful with realistic expectations. There are nary miracles. The AirPods Pro are susceptible of overmuch much broad sound cancellation, afloat stop. If you privation a backstage bubble of tranquility, the AirPods 4 aren’t going to instrumentality you there. 

But I’ve been genuinely impressed by what they are susceptible of. If you conscionable enactment the AirPods 4 successful and crook connected sound cancellation without immoderate audio playing, you mightiness not beryllium wowed. You’ll hear… well, perfectly everything — but the din is little overwhelming. The ANC is champion astatine tackling lower-frequency noises from airplane cabins, metropolis traffic, and those random hums astatine galore offices. The AirPods 4 adjacent did a reasonably singular occupation of cutting down the rumble of ferry engines astatine the pier adjacent our office. 

You’re ever going to perceive a just magnitude of ambient dependable if you’re not listening to something, but erstwhile the euphony starts, that’s wherever the ANC proves its worth. I’ve recovered that I tin support the measurement astatine astir 50 percent and hardly announcement immoderate distractions. With past AirPods (and with the non-ANC AirPods 4), I routinely find myself cranking the measurement to combat my surroundings. You won’t request to look that conflict with the AirPods 4 with ANC, and that means you should beryllium listening astatine safer levels much often than not.

The AirPods 4 aren’t going to get immoderate of the hearing wellness features coming to the AirPods Pro, but their quality to shave disconnected capable of the extracurricular satellite to fto you support the measurement slider astatine a sensible spot is simply a large crushed to see upgrading. There are decidedly environments wherever they tin conflict — the ANC didn’t enactment up overmuch of a combat successful a crowded barroom — but I’ve been pleasantly amazed by however utile the diagnostic has proven successful this open-ear style.

Along with sound cancellation, the higher-end exemplary gets transparency mode and Adaptive Audio, a diagnostic that blends the 2 truthful that important noises similar sirens tin walk through. Adaptive Audio is little utile present than connected the AirPods Pro since the AirPods 4 ever marque it casual to perceive what’s happening astir you by quality of their design. But Conversation Awareness, which lowers the audio measurement erstwhile you commencement talking, remains a adjuvant instrumentality — unless you person a wont of muttering things to yourself similar I often do.

There are different perks included with the higher-end $179 AirPods 4. The lawsuit supports wireless charging either with Apple’s MagSafe pucks oregon immoderate Qi-compatible charger. And there’s besides a built-in talker connected the lawsuit that tin emit a dependable erstwhile you’re trying to way it down with Apple’s Find My app. The modular $129 AirPods 4 deficiency these features. I’m good losing the speaker, but having to spell without wireless charging successful the basal exemplary stings and meaningfully takes distant from their value. 

Sound-wise, these are Apple’s champion regular AirPods yet. The wide dependable signature hasn’t changed overmuch from the AirPods 3, but the AirPods 4 supply a thicker furniture of bass than their predecessors; I’ve noticed greater instrumentality separation erstwhile listening to songs similar “Tiny Moves” by Bleachers; there’s much finesse and clarity to the precocious scope / treble. The AirPods Pro support a limb up erstwhile it comes to wide fidelity, but I’d person nary issues surviving with the AirPods 4. And again, the regular and ANC models are identical successful this department.

I inactive person to beryllium intentional and twist these AirPods into my ears conscionable close if I privation them to enactment put. But erstwhile they’re in, they’re reasonably snug, adjacent erstwhile I’m rushing down the subway presumption stairs to drawback a train. With the AirPods Pro, I tin conscionable benignant of cram them successful without giving it immoderate thought. But adjacent I tin admit that the AirPods 4 are much comfy implicit agelong listening sessions.

Head gestures are a caller capableness you get with some sets of the AirPods 4. When toggled on, you tin respond to Siri by nodding your caput up and down to prosecute with notifications oregon reply a call; shaking your caput broadside to broadside volition besides disregard them. I’m not idiosyncratic who likes having my earbuds pester maine with notifications, but successful my little tests, my caput movements were detected accurately, adjacent erstwhile they were reasonably small. Some radical mightiness truly travel to similar this mode of dealing with Siri, but I’ll beryllium sticking with the much accepted methods.

Anyone who often uses their AirPods for dependable calls volition admit the Voice Isolation diagnostic — already disposable connected the AirPods Pro — that has present travel to the AirPods 4. By moving instrumentality learning algorithms simultaneously connected the AirPods and root device, Apple tin amended isolate your voice, adjacent successful raucous environments. This is fundamentally akin to Google’s Clear Calling feature, and it tin marque a important quality if you request to instrumentality a telephone successful less-than-ideal conditions. Note that Voice Isolation is lone disposable connected calls and can’t beryllium utilized when, say, you’re signaling a dependable memo oregon a video with your phone. 

On apical of these caller features, you get the accustomed slew of Apple ecosystem tie-ins similar audio sharing, automatic switching betwixt devices, hands-free “Hey Siri” commands, Apple TV integration, and more. I inactive precise overmuch privation that Apple would see genuine multipoint enactment truthful you could brace to 2 products astatine once, but astatine this point, the determination to permission it retired seems similar a philosophical prime that’s not going to change. 

Battery beingness is rated astatine 4 hours of playback clip with sound cancellation oregon 5 hours with it off. Add successful the charging lawsuit and you get a full of 20 and 30 hours, respectively. (The cheaper AirPods 4 evidently get the longer numbers since there’s nary ANC.) I haven’t utilized them agelong capable to extensively verify those estimates, but they’ve seemed connected constituent truthful far. Sadly, Apple inactive hasn’t made repairability a precedence with the AirPods 4, truthful inevitably, determination volition travel a clip erstwhile that endurance starts to wane.

I’ll beryllium going close backmost to regular earbuds aft this review. That’s conscionable who I am, and I similar having arsenic overmuch sound isolation arsenic possible. But the AirPods 4 with ANC are acold and distant Apple’s astir compelling instrumentality connected this unfastened plan yet. The sound cancellation isn’t connected par with much costly in-ear alternatives, but it’s easy bully capable to guarantee you tin bask your euphony astatine a mean measurement nary substance wherever you mightiness be. You tin archer a quality erstwhile the ANC is working, which I can’t accidental of different unfastened earbuds that person advertised sound cancellation. That, combined with the wireless charging, is the biggest crushed I’d steer astir radical toward the much costly model.

The modular AirPods 4 springiness you the aforesaid bully audio performance, and they effortlessly weave into Apple’s ecosystem. They’re besides a important upgrade implicit the second-gen exemplary that they’ve replaced for the aforesaid $129, but beyond the walled plot tricks, Apple near them with comparatively fewer frills compared to the ANC pair. So unless you’re precise price-conscious, it’s worthy stepping up. Your ears volition beryllium supremely grateful you spent the other $50.

Photography by Chris Welch / The Verge